Mark, Author at Save Game

Mark blames his need for gaming on the Game Boy, which started him on the expensive path to collections and spending most of his time writing or making videos about them. Be sure to check out his YouTube channel PlayNicePlayNow (https://www.youtube.com/user/playniceplaynow) because why not, that's why.

Pokemon Rumble is a kids game. Pokemon Rumble World is a free game with pay-to-play options, developed for the Nintendo 3DS. You’d think that mixing a beloved franchise and pay-to-play would be bad for business, or at least create something that’s just awful, but I’m honest in saying that despite its simplicity, Pokemon Rumble World isn’t half bad.

Bladestorm: Nightmare is a near seven year old game rejigged for the new era of consoles, although why anyone thought it was a good idea to do that, instead of just building an entirely new game, is beyond me. It’s like someone in the back office wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on a sequel, and settled on another cliched ‘HD update’ instead.

Not too long ago I wrote a prediction list for 2015, which included the probability that The Order: 1886 would be the first major fail for the year. That prediction was based solely on the massive amount of hype for the game leading up to release, not unlike Watch Dogs, which I believed may lead to the game not matching those expectations. For the most part I was right, but not due to that reason alone.

Dead or Alive has always split the fighting community in two. On the one hand, it’s an exciting blend of action, counters and explosive level designs. On the other….well, let’s just say Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and just leave it at that.

As a secret minigame hidden within the forgotten racing franchise Project Gotham Racing, Geometry Wars has certainly come a long way. Top selling Xbox Live sequels, handheld spin-offs, studio closures and even a rebranded former publishing giant taking over the reigns. It seems the little shooter that could has seen everything.

Ah, Toad. The butt of many jokes for all those years, the little guys that followed Princess Peach around everywhere before crying in disbelief (again and again) as she was whisked away by Bowser, helpless and unsure of what to do next. Let’s be honest, they were never considered true heroes in the same vein as Mario or Yoshi, aside from a few cameos in Mario Bros. 2 or Mario Kart.

Turn-based strategy games can be a mixed bag. If you don’t have a compelling narrative or something to pull the audience in, boredom can set rather quickly as you take your turn, wait a few minutes, take another turn, wait again…

It can be hard sometimes being a fan. You love something so much, you cherish it with such intensity that it can sometimes become your own life. Yet there are those out there who hate or despise that same something, and those who want to turn it into something it isn’t, something different. Me? I’m a Star Wars fan, so you can imagine the roller coaster ride of the past twenty years, being a fan of a series that constantly updates itself as if it’s trying to keep up instead of standing tall as the innovator it always was.